Siege of Gondor
The Siege of Gondor was the greatest battle of the War of the Ring. Amassed before Minas Tirith were the hosts of Mordor. It took the combined efforts of Gondor, Rohan and the Dead Men of Dunharrow to defeat them. History Prelude Sauron had unleashed his forces upon the world again. Lead by the Witch-King of Angmar, Mordor had already subjugated Osgiliath. The road lay open into the heart of Gondor, so Mordor used Osgiliath to prepare its engines of war. When at last it was ready, then entire host of Mordor marched across the Pelennor towards Minas Tirith. They brought with them siege towers, catapults, a battering ram and finally Grond. Siege of Gondor The host was enormous, encompassing nearly all of the Pelennor outside of the city. Prior to their arrival, Faramir's body is recovered and brought to the citadel. Denethor is horrified, believing that his last son is now dead. Meanwhile, Gothmog decides to play cruelly with his foes and orders the decapitated heads of Gondorians to be launched into the city. The Men of Gondor are repulsed by this atrocity as the disfigured heads fall amongst them. Denethor draws away from his son and sees that the armies of Mordor have surrounded the city. The Orcs soon catapult heavy stones into the city, which smash into the buildings and topple them. Towers and city blocks crumble into ruin. Denethor abruptly panics and tells everyone to flee for their lives. Right after this, Gandalf takes matters into his own hands and knocks Denethor unconscious. After this he rides through the streets and orders the Gondorians back to their posts. The Gondorians assemble under Gandalf's steady command. The Wizard orders them to send the orcs into oblivion and the Gondorians let loose their trebuchets. The trebuchets launch rubble into the air, which crash down on the orc ranks. Some of them are scared, but Gothmog tells them to stay put. Several more stones are launched out of the city. One of them crushes an orc catapult and another collides with a siege tower, smashing it into pieces. One piece of rubble even looms over Gothmog. Just at the last minute, Gothmog swallows his own words and moves aside. The Nazgul soon descend from the skies. The screeches terrify everyone in the city. Some of the Nazgul use their Fell Beasts to destroy some of the trebuchets. Others simply plough through the Gondorians and drop them to their deaths. Gandalf orders them to stay strong and the Gondorians resume their efforts. They manage to launch another stone which smashes into the top of a siege tower. Pippin is caught in the chaos, barely escaping a crumbling tower. Eventually siege towers begin to reach the wall. The Gondorians try to shoot at them with arrows, but Gandalf hastily orders them to target the trolls that are moving them. They manage to shoot one troll down, but it is too late as the towers reach the walls. Once there, Orcs pour onto the rampart instantly. At the gates of the city, a battering ram is brought forward to break them. But the Gondorian archers rain arrows down on them and pile up numerous orcs. Meanwhile, Gandalf spots Pippin and orders him to run. An Orc then runs towards the Hobbit, but Gandalf leaps down and attacks him. Gandalf goes on a rampage against the Orcs, bashing them with his staff and using his sword to cut them up. More orcs pour in and Gandalf still manages to kill them one at a time. When he lets his guard down an orc runs towards him, but Pippin draws his own sword and stabs it through the chest. Gandalf is startled, but he compliments Pippin for his bravery and urges him to return to the Citadel. The Orcs trying to use the battering ram have all been shot and the door is too strong. Impatient, Gothmog sends orders for Grond to be hauled up to the gates. The Orcs begin chanting "Grond, Grond, Grond..." as a mighty battering ram shaping like a ravening wolf rolls towards the gates. Gandalf sees it from the rampart and is astonished. Grond, Hammer of the Underworld By nightfall, the Orcs are using their catapults to launch fireballs into the city. The city is set ablaze by the cascade of flaming boulders. Gandalf rallies the army to the gates of the city, knowing they wont hold against Grond. The trolls loose the battering ram upon the gates four times. The fourth attempt finally succeeds. Grond smashes through the gates, sending out fire from its mouth. Gandalf commands the men to stand fast no matter what comes through. Mountain trolls enter the city and crush the Gondorians with their giant hammers. But Gandalf signals a volley shot and the Gondorians shoot down one of the trolls with arrows. Orcs and Easterlings swarm into the city and a deadly fight ensues. Gandalf rides up to one of the trolls and viciously cuts its throat before it can even attack. The troll falls dead, but the orcs continue to swarm in. Fireballs continue to fall into the city. By the time that day breaks, Gandalf is ordering the men to retreat and to evacuate the women and children. The fight becomes so desperate that Gandalf and the Gondorians are locked in a bitter struggle with the Orcs. Ride of the Rohirrim Finally, the horns of Rohan sound. Gothmog and the Orcs halt as they see the horsemen loom up from the north. Theoden looks warily on the scene before him, from the burning city to the vast army. Eowyn tells Merry to be brave as he visibly shudders. Gothmog orders the Orcs into formations, sending pikemen to the front with arches behind. Theoden orders his captains to take positions before giving a rousing speech to his men. At last, when all of the Rohirrim are driven into a blood lust, Theoden orders them to charge. Gothmog orders three volleys of arrows, but only a handful of riders are brought down. The Rohirrim plough through the Orcs and trample them into in the ground. Pyre of Denethor Back in the city, Pippin finds Gandalf and alerts him to Denethor's suicide attempt. Gandalf takes Pippin and leaves the battle, riding straight for the tombs. There he urges Shadowfax kick the doors open and orders to Denethor "Stay this madness!" Denethor grabs a firebrand and cryptically remarks that there is no victory against Mordor. Then he sets the pyre aflame. Gandalf grabs a spear from one of the Citadel Guards and uses it knock Denethor off the pyre. Pippin heaves Faramir off the pyre and hastily tries to stop him from catching fire. In his madness, Denethor begins to manhandle Pippin. Gandalf urges his horse to rear up and kick Denethor into the flames. Wounded, Denethor sees Faramir recovering again. At last Denethor is engulfed by flames and he runs from the tombs, all the way to the prow of the citadel where he jumps to his death. The Haradrim Back on the Pelennor fields, the Rohirrim are laying waste to the Orcs. Before long the Orcs begin to retreat and Theoden orders his men to start retaking the city. But his moment of glory is cut short when he sees something at the other end of the fields. A line of assailants emerge from the dust and the Rohirrim see that 20 giant Mumakil are advancing towards them. The Haradrim mounted on their war towers sound their horns and urge their Mumakil to stampede. Theoden orders his men back into a formation and orders them to charge head on. A brutal fight ensues. The Mumakil swing their mighty tusks and sweep the horsemen into the air. Many of the Rohirrim are crushed and trampled beneath the giant Mumakil, while others are caught in their barbed tusks. The Haradrim also rain arrows down on the Rohirrim from their war towers. Both forces soon break ranks and the field is cluttered. Eomer notices how the Haradrim Chieftan is driving the Mumakil by using ropes attached to the beast's ears. Eomer then hurls his spear at the Chieftan, which strikes him in the chest and kills him. He falls to one side of the Mumakil's head and his corpse pulls heavily on the ropes. The Mumakil roars in pain and begins to turn in the direction that the ropes are pulling, until the great beast collides headfirst into another Mumakil, which causes both of them to fall. Eowyn and Merry ride underneath the stampeding Mumakil. Eowyn takes Merry's sword with her own and uses both blades to slash at the Mumakil's legs as they ride underneath it, bringing it down. A third Mumakil is brought down when Eomer and his men fire arrows directly at the beast's head, which causes it to rear up in fear before it collapses onto the ground. But it falls dangerously close to Eowyn and Merry, who are thrown from their horse. Eowyn then goes to help Theoden when he is surrounded. Killing a number of Orcs, Eowyn then locks blades with Gothmog himself. She punches him in the face and wounds his leg. A Far Green Country Meanwhile, in the upper rings of the city, the Gondorians are making their final stand at one of the city gates. The orcs and a troll are attempting to break through it. On the other side, Pippin muses on how the end is coming. But Gandalf tells him that death is not the end, but the start of another journey. Then he speaks lovingly of the Undying Lands, the blessed realm that all souls and spirits travel to. The wizard proclaims they are "White shores... and beyond. A far green country, under a swift sunrise". Moved and filled with hope, Pippin no longer fears death. The Witch-King On the fields below, the Mumakil are still crushing numerous riders. Theoden tries to rally his men, but he freezes in fear when he sees the Witch-King flying towards him. The Fell Beast grabs Theoden and his horse with its mouth. Then the beast viciously tosses the King and his horse across the field. Eowyn watches on in horror. The King falls with the horse crashing down on his body, leaving him paralysed. As the fell beast frightens everyone away, the Witch-King orders his steed to "Feast on his flesh". But Eowyn steps in front of the beast and threatens to kill the wraith. In response, the Witch-King warns her not to stand in his way. The fell beast lunges, but Eowyn swiftly darts aside and furiously hacks at the creature's neck. After two strokes, the beast's head falls off and the creature dies. As Eowyn runs to grab a shield, she sees the Morgul Lord arise from the ruin of his dead steed. He turns towards her threateningly and unveils a giant flail with a boulder-sized bludgeon. The Witch-King swings it down, gouging a hole in the ground as Eowyn leaps aside. The Morgul Lord takes several swipes, becoming angrier and swinging much faster. At last the flail impacts against Eowyn's shield, shattering it and fracturing her arm. The Witch-King halts his attack and spreads his arms in a display of power. He advances on her and scolds her for trying to kill him, remarking that no man can do so. His gloating is cut short when Merry suddenly stabs the Witch-King in the back of the knee, which breaks the spell holding his limbs together. As the Wraith falls to his knees, his cursed skin melts Merry's blade and burns the Hobbit. Eowyn uses her sword arm to throw off her helmet, where she scoffs "I am no Man!" before driving her sword into the Witch-King's mouth. Flames erupt from the sword as the wraith screeches to the heavens. Then his helmet is crushed as he dies. The Oathbreakers At the ports of Gondor, the Orcs see the ships of the Corsairs arriving. But as they dock, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli jump off the decks to meet them. The Army of the Dead, lead by their King, appear out of nowhere and they massacre the orcs. The ghost army sweeps through the Mordor forces, bringing down the last of the Mumakil and the Haradrim. While Aragorn and Gimli are slaying Orcs, they end up killing Gothmog, who was clawing his way towards a wounded Eowyn. Legolas then sees a stamping Mumakil and leaps onto its tusks. He then climbs the beast and begins to shoot men off the war tower, still totting up his score. The Haradrim try to attack him, so the Elf swings down the side of the beast and cuts the straps holding up the war tower. The tower falls off the Mumakil and lands in the path of the oncoming ghosts. Finally, Legolas shoots the Mumakil's skull with three arrows. The beast collapses, with Legolas casually sliding down its trunk and landing on his feet before Gimli. The Dwarf is immediately jealous, claiming that the Mumakil still only counts as one, forgetting the war tower full of soldiers. At last the Orcs and the Haradrim are destroyed utterly. The ghosts sweep into the city and liberate it. Meanwhile, Eowyn and Theoden speak one last time. The King thanks her for saving him, but announces that he is dying anyway. His last word is "Eowyn" before he slips away, and Eowyn mourns over her dead uncle. Aftermath Gandalf and Pippin go to meet Aragorn on the fields, where the King of the Dead demands to be released. Gimli objects, noting how the Oathbreakers have provided great aid to them. The Dead King reminds Aragorn that he gave his word. Aragorn agrees and sets the Oathbreakers free. By Aragorn's leave, the Ghosts vanish from sight as they pass away. For the Free Peoples, it was a great but costly victory that caused great losses for them. Rohan had lost its King while Gondor had lost its Steward. But Mordor's losses were just as bad, as the entire host had been destroyed. Even though Sauron still held a vast army within Mordor itself, the loss of the Witch-King, his deadliest servant, was an even greater setback that than the casualties he had sustained. Appearances *''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' (First appearance) Category:Battles